Ege University Hospital Health Workers Strike Over Unpaid Overtime and Increased Workload

Cumhuriyet reports on the growing unrest within Turkey's healthcare sector, as health workers at Ege University Hospital initiated a strike over unpaid overtime and overwhelming workloads. Unions including Birlik Sağlık-Sen, Hep-Sen, Genel Sağlık-İş, Hekim Birliği, and Türk Sağlık-Sen have united in this action, demanding fair compensation and improved working conditions.

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The health system has collapsed at Ege University Hospital. Employees are struggling, words are over. There is neither a spear nor a sack left.

Muhammed Danışkan, İzmir Universities Branch President of Birlik Sağlık-Sen, voiced the workers' frustrations during a press conference. He described the hospital as a 'center of exhaustion' due to inadequate management, mobbing, and working conditions that exceed human limits. Health workers are reportedly shouldering double or triple the workload while receiving meager incentive payments, which are described as a mockery. Compounding these issues, overtime wages, earned day and night, remain unpaid.

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Our health workers are crushed under double or triple the workload, and in return, they are almost mocked with laughable incentive payments.

Danışkan further highlighted critical shortages of basic medical supplies, such as gloves, and a general lack of security and discipline within the hospital. He stated that staff are being forced into roles outside their expertise, and the hospital environment has devolved into chaos, leaving professionals expected to perform miracles without basic resources. The union leader emphasized that healthcare workers cannot be treated as slaves, especially when their hard-earned wages are not being paid.

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Moreover, the overtime wages earned day and night are still not being paid.

From Cumhuriyet's perspective, this strike is a symptom of a larger crisis in the public healthcare system. We believe the government's failure to adequately fund hospitals and compensate healthcare professionals is pushing dedicated workers to their breaking point. The disparity in incentive payments compared to Ministry of Health hospitals is unacceptable, especially given the complex cases handled by university hospitals. This situation is not merely about unpaid wages; it's about the dignity and well-being of the individuals who are the backbone of our health service. The international community might see this as a labor dispute, but for us, it's a critical issue of systemic neglect and a call for fundamental reform to ensure our healthcare workers are valued and supported.

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You cannot use health workers like slaves.